Chapter 5

Buffy stared at the wand for a moment before snapping out of her reverie, dropping the polished piece of wood onto the desk with a clatter.

"I think… I think I have to go," Buffy said quietly, quickly rising to her feet. Even though he was rather spry for his age, Dumbledore was not able to get up fast enough to stop her, and allowed her to leave his office without any hindrances.

Still new to the castle, Buffy was unsure of where she was going and just walked. It was now rather late in the afternoon, close to dinner time, and Buffy didn't see anyone in the corridors as she tried her best to get as far away from Dumbledore's office as fast as she possibly could. She supposed this was a good thing; the fewer people she ran into, the better. Less questions that way.

Buffy didn't realize that she had made it outside until the cool October air hit her in the face. The moving staircases had wigged her out a little when having to traverse them on her own, but she managed somehow. She shivered slightly and wrapped her arms around herself; it was cold outside. Then again, she was used to balmy southern California weather, which this definitely was not.

Walking across the lawn, Buffy made her way to the edge of the lake. She sat on the rocky shore, not noticing or really caring that the smooth stones were hard and cold. She picked one up, weighing it in her hand before throwing it into the lake, watching as it collided with the water and sent ripples from the epicentre.

"She doesn't like that, you know."

Buffy jumped and turned around, wondering who had spoken. Standing about six feet away from her was one of the tallest people she had ever seen. He was at least six and a half feet tall, probably taller, and built like a tank. His face made him look like he was only twelve or thirteen years old, but he couldn't have been that young. Could he?

"Who doesn't like what?" Buffy asked, curious. The extraordinarily large boy shifted his weight from one foot to the other, obviously uncomfortable under Buffy's gaze.

"The squid," the boy said, closing the distance between himself and Buffy and sitting next to her. Even sitting, Buffy felt dwarfed by the boy. Must be something in the water or something, Buffy thought. Then again, Buffy wasn't a large girl by any means and nearly everyone seemed larger than her. "Her name's Calliope, you know. At least, that's what I call her."

"How do you know she doesn't like it?" Buffy asked.

"Would you like it if someone threw rocks through your bedroom window?" the boy asked. "The name's Hagrid, by the way. Rubeus Hagrid, everyone calls me Hagrid though."

"Buffy Summers," Buffy introduced herself with a small smile.

"You don't look familiar," Hagrid remarked after a few moments of comfortable silence. "What house are you in?"

"Oh, I'm not a student," Buffy replied, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. She was looking forward to the day when her clothes came back from wherever they had gone; after only one day of dressing like a student, she was getting fed up with being mistaken for a student. "I'm just visiting; the house elves took my clothes and this is the only thing they had."

"I was a student, you know," Hagrid said suddenly. Buffy turned so that she was facing him.

"Pardon?" she asked, not quite sure if he was speaking to her, or if he was just talking to himself.

"I – ah – used to be a student at Hogwarts," Hagrid repeated, shifting uncomfortably. "Would have been in my fourth year this year if I hadn't been expelled. Gryffindor."

"I got expelled too," Buffy said with a reassuring smile. "I was fifteen and I burned down the school gym; my parents had to find another school for me to go to."

Buffy wondered why she was telling all of these things to someone she had just met and hardly knew. Then again, it was nice to find someone she could finally relate to on some level.

"You mean, there are other schools for magic?" Hagrid asked, his black eyes widening in surprise.

"Oh no, I didn't go to a school for magic," Buffy replied. "Just a regular American high school."

"I wondered why you talked funny," Hagrid said. Buffy laughed for the first time in days, feeling as if a weight had finally been lifted from her chest. "So, you're not a witch, then?"

"Nope," Buffy replied. "Although Dumbledore seems to think I am."

"Then how can you see Hogwarts?" Hagrid asked. "What are you doing here, if you're not a witch?"

"That's a little harder for me to explain," Buffy replied, cursing, once again, the lack of a prefabricated back story that wouldn't get her into trouble. She really needed to discuss this with Dumbledore, assuming that he was still feeling welcoming on her behalf.

"There you are!"

Buffy and Hagrid both turned to see Dumbledore strolling across the lawn, heading in their direction. His already outrageous robes were covered by a bright blue cloak. In his hands was another cloak, black in color, and it looked too small for either Dumbledore or Hagrid, who was wearing a fuzzy brown cloak anyway.

"I was hoping I'd find you eventually," Dumbledore continued as he reached the odd-looking duo. He extended the cloak towards her. "If I'd known you were planning on going outside, I would have given you this. It's cold out, better bundle up. Don't want you catching a chill."

Buffy got to her feet and dusted herself off before gingerly taking the cloak from Dumbledore. Cautiously, she swung it over her shoulders and did up the clasp.

"The cloak doesn't bite, you know," Dumbledore said. Buffy looked up to see that his blue eyes were twinkling. "Thank you, Mr. Hagrid, for making Buffy feel welcome around here. I'm sure she appreciates it; I know I do."

"It was nothing, Professor Dumbledore sir," Hagrid said with a large, toothy grin. "It was nice meetin' you, Miss Summers."

"It's Buffy," Buffy corrected him with a smile. If possible, Hagrid's smile widened further as a pink flush crossed his cheeks before he waved goodbye and headed towards a small shack several hundred feet away.

"Come Miss Summers, let's go inside," Dumbledore said, patting Buffy on the shoulder. "I feel we have much to discuss."

Buffy sighed, but she knew he was right. After the display in Dumbledore's office, she needed to figure out what she was going to do next, and Dumbledore was her best bet with getting help with that. Unfortunately for Buffy, she was short of allies in this dimension – world – time – whatever this place was, and it was already beginning to wear on her.

"Looking forward to it," Buffy said with a nervous smile.

"Come along now, there's nothing to be worried about," Dumbledore said, his eyes continuing to twinkle. He turned and began making his way towards the castle, not looking back to make sure Buffy was following. Confident, isn't he? Buffy thought as she hurried to keep up.

"Would you like to join me in the Great Hall for dinner?" Dumbledore asked once they had reached the main doors of the castle. "It was actually the reason why I had come to find you; I know you hadn't eaten much in the last couple of days and there is nothing better than a meal in the Great Hall prepared by the Hogwarts house elves."

"Do I have much of a choice?" Buffy asked.

"You always have a choice, my dear," Dumbledore said. "But remember… you'll have to face the rest of the school eventually. The longer you put it off, the harder it will be. Besides, your appearance is a complete secret which, naturally, means the entire school knows."

"Please tell me you're joking," Buffy said with a groan.

"Unfortunately, no," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling. "There are a few things in this world that I would never joke about, and the lack of secrets in this school is one of them. I'm sorry, Miss Summers, but I'm sure you can understand how easy it is for news to spread in a building full of teenagers."

"I suppose so," Buffy said with a sigh. "Come on, let's get this over with."

"Excellent," Dumbledore said with a smile, turning and leading the way into the large double doors that opened into the Great Hall.

"I don't see what's so excellent about it," Buffy muttered under her breath as she followed Dumbledore into the Great Hall.

Four tables ran along the length of the room, with another, slightly shorter table, ran perpendicular across the head of the room. Each of the four long tables was occupied with students, and each table had one of four color themes. Probably represents each house, Buffy thought to herself. The room, which Buffy would have expected to be bursting with a cacophony of conversation, was eerily silent.

Each and every eye was trained on Buffy as she was led towards the staff table.

"They're staring at me," Buffy hissed at Dumbledore as she took a seat next to him.

"It's not every day we have guests in the castle," Dumbledore whispered back. "The longer you stay, the less curious they will be."

Just then, Professor Dippet rose from his seat at the middle of the table and cleared his throat to get the attention of the students. Every pair of eyes was set on him save for one.

Tom Riddle stared at Buffy, a small, amused smirk on his face. She scowled and averted her eyes, turning her attention to Dippet. However, she could still feel his eyes on her, and it made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

He was one strange boy and he was really beginning to wig her out.

"Students and faculty, I'm sure you have noticed by now a new addition to the school," Dippet began. "Miss Buffy Summers is visiting us for a few days on her travels; you may see her sitting in on some classes and walking the corridors. Please be sure to make her feel welcome and to demonstrate the warm Hogwarts hospitality we are known for."

As soon as Dippet finished his speech and sat back down, the buzz of conversation started up. Buffy was pretty sure they weren't talking about their classes of the day.

So totally makes me feel like the freaky new girl again, Buffy thought as she grabbed a piece of chicken and spooned some vegetables onto her plate. She surveyed the room as she ate; Minerva caught her eye, smiling and offering a slight wave when she did. Buffy returned the favour, a little relieved that there was a friendly face in the crowd instead of the sea of faces trying not to make it obvious they were gawking at her.

The only other person who wasn't gawking at her was Tom Riddle. Buffy tried to avoid his gaze as she panned the room, but her hazel eyes kept on locking onto his dark ones briefly before she shook herself and continued with her meal.

"Normally I wouldn't do something like this to a student twice in one day, but we need to discuss your next plan of action," Dumbledore said, keeping his voice low. Buffy glanced over at Dippet; he was looking at the two of them strangely, but Buffy doubted he could hear them. Was that why he was keeping his voice low, so that Dippet couldn't hear them? Buffy could only guess.

While the only thing Buffy wanted to do after dinner was go back to her room, she knew that she had to talk to Dumbledore, and soon. After Dippet's announcement, it was imperative that they go over some kind of back story to stick to so that she had something to go on besides, "I'm a vampire slayer that fell from the sky and I'm also from the future". Buffy nearly laughed at how absurd that sounded, but caught herself just in time. It wouldn't do for people to think she was crazy before they even met her; that was something that usually happened afterwards.

"Might as well get this over with," Buffy muttered under her breath. Dumbledore smiled at her, his eyes twinkling once again. Buffy resisted the urge to roll her eyes; she had the feeling that Dumbledore rarely had someone say "no" to him. She wondered idly what would happen if someone did have the gall to refuse the old man, and decided that it wouldn't be a pretty picture. Buffy got the feeling that Dumbledore could forcibly make someone see his way, but from what she had seen it was more likely that he would quietly manipulate someone until they saw and agreed to his way of thinking.

"Have you finished eating, Miss Summers?" Dumbledore asked after a long stretch of silence. Buffy looked down at her plate; it was empty. She vaguely remembered eating, but had been so wrapped up in her thoughts that she hadn't quite realized how much she had eaten. "I don't know about you, but I would like to get this discussion started as soon as possible."

"Dippet's not going to be there, is he?" Buffy asked.

"Depending on how this goes, we may need to bring him in on our discussions, but for now let's keep it between you and me," Dumbledore suggested. Buffy nodded in agreement; she got a strange feeling about Dippet, as if he didn't like her.

Normally Buffy would be worried about having such a private conversation in such a public place, but it appeared as if dinner had ended some time ago and that pretty much everyone had cleared out of the Great Hall. There was nearly no one to listen in on their conversation; there were a few stragglers, but they seemed to be so wrapped up in their nuclear groups that they paid Buffy and Dumbledore no mind.

"Let's go up to my office, we can have a more private conversation there," Dumbledore suggested. Buffy nodded; she instinctively knew that, even though he'd worded it as a suggestion, she didn't have much of a choice. She supposed that she could have countered with a suggestion that they use her rooms, but she also got the feeling that it was rather inappropriate for a professor to visit a young woman in her private room. In her own time most people would think nothing of it, but it might generate some frowns here. The last thing Buffy wanted were more rampant rumours spread around the school about her.

Dumbledore rose from his seat and Buffy followed suit. She quietly followed him all the way up to the seventh floor, putting all of her concentration into keeping up with his long and quick stride. For someone who seemed rather advanced in age, he moved quite quickly. In no time they had reached his office, having met no one in the corridors; the stairways had, somehow, cooperated with them as well.

"Now, to our plan of action," Dumbledore said as soon as they were seated.

"Right down to business, I see," Buffy replied. No muss, no fuss; just how she liked it.

"Obviously this will be your decision, but I would like to suggest something," Dumbledore began. Buffy braced herself, fearing the worst. "I believe that, with the display from this afternoon, we could offer you a place at Hogwarts."

"I thought you might say that," Buffy said. "Do you think that's a good idea? Won't I be, like, completely behind everyone? And what if someone asks why I'm only starting to learn about magic now?"

"I think that it is imperative that you learn how to control your magic," Dumbledore replied. "Untrained witches and wizards have been known to wreak absolute havoc if their powers are not controlled. Now that you are aware of yours, I see every reason for you to learn how to channel your magic. As for your cover story, that's something we can think about later. I will, of course, arrange for tutors; there are several Ravenclaws and a couple of Gryffindors who would be more than up to the challenge."

"And if I say no?" Buffy asked. She was beginning to think that saying "no" would be a very bad idea, and she would probably agree to this anyway, but she might as well know her other options before making a decision.

"You will, of course, be welcome to stay here as my guest until such a time it is feasible for you to be on your way," Dumbledore replied. In other words, they'd kick me out eventually, Buffy thought with a mental sigh. It was to be expected; after all, she wasn't a student nor a teacher and she doubted Hogwarts rarely took in stray people for the hell of it. "Besides, with you as a student here, you would be able to stay in the castle and you would have access to all of the materials we have on time travel so that we can get you back to your time."

"Your proposal is very hard for me to refuse," Buffy said. It was, in all honesty, a very difficult offer for her to refuse. "Am I going to have to put on that hat?"

"What hat?" Dumbledore asked, before it clicked with him. "Oh, you mean the Sorting Hat? Yes, it's something that all students must endure, I'm afraid. Can't have a student without a house; it would make them homeless."

Buffy understood the reasoning, but it didn't mean she had to like it. She wasn't looking forward to a mind reading, anthropomorphic hat being placed on her head to poke around in her mind to see what made her tick.

"What is it about the Sorting Hat that makes you so uneasy?" Dumbledore asked.

"I just don't like the idea of being pigeonholed because of one dominant personality trait," Buffy replied with a shrug. "I don't think it's fair."

"I hadn't thought of it that way," Dumbledore said thoughtfully. "However, policies are slow to change, especially ones that have been around for nearly a millennia. The Sorting process, as archaic as you might think it is, is an important Hogwarts tradition and must be followed by every student. It helps students have a sense of belonging right off the bat, instead of having to find your niche all on your own."

"Well, if you put it that way, I suppose the whole house system can have a positive spin on it," Buffy replied.

"Will I be able to announce you as the newest Hogwarts student tomorrow at breakfast?" Dumbledore asked.

Buffy thought for a moment. It really was the best option she had right now; she was alone in this time; all of her friends hadn't even been born yet. She wasn't even sure if her own grandparents had been born; even if they were, they were in the States and there she didn't think they'd take to kindly to her showing up on their doorstep, stating that she was their granddaughter.

"Doesn't look like I have much of a choice, does it?" Buffy replied. Dumbledore smiled at her, his eyes twinkling yet again.

"This is most likely a formality, but I need to present your case to Professor Dippet," Dumbledore said. "He is the Headmaster and has to approve all new transfers."

Dumbledore got up from his desk and headed to the fireplace. He took out his wand and muttered some words that Buffy couldn't quite distinguish. Flames burst from the tip of his wand, instantly igniting the pile of logs sitting there. She watched as he grabbed a silver canister from the mantle and put his hand into it, extracting some grey powder, which he threw onto the flames.

Buffy's eyes widened as the fire turned green and Dumbledore kneeled at the hearth and stuck his head into the flames. She was about to get up and pull him out of the fire – what kind of idiot would do such a thing? – when Dumbledore brought his head back out of the flames.

"I should have warned you about this, I'm quite sorry to have alarmed you," he said quickly. "This is kind of like a Muggle telephone system, and it's perfectly harmless."

"O-okay," Buffy stammered, still in slight shock as Dumbledore stuck his head back into the fireplace. Even if she were trying to eavesdrop, she couldn't hear what he was saying. After a few moments, Dumbledore removed his head from the fire. From the grim look on his face, it didn't look good.

"Dippet would like to speak to me alone," Dumbledore said grimly. "Would you mind waiting out in the corridor?"

"No, of course not," Buffy replied. It was obvious to both of them that she did, in fact, mind, but there was little Buffy could do to argue without hurting her chances to stay. Dumbledore looked at her apologetically as she got to her feet and trooped out the door. She just hoped that no one would stumble upon her while she was waiting in the corridor like a naughty child; she didn't quite feel up to speaking to anyone, or stumbling over a to-be-determined cover story.

She leaned against the wall, although the urge to press her ear against the door was too great. It wasn't long before she did just that, in an attempt to catch bits of the conversation going on behind the thick wooden door. She could make out the mumbled drone of conversation, but nothing distinct.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

Buffy groaned as the smooth voice floated over to her. Removing her ear from the door, she turned to find her current least favourite person standing about five feet from her, an amused smirk crossing his handsome features. Riddle's appearance made sent a shiver up her spine, and not the good kind of shiver.

"What do you want?" Buffy asked, resisting the urge to scowl at him. If she didn't know any better, she would have said he was following her around.

"What, a bloke can't walk around his own school?" Riddle asked, arching an eyebrow. "And I could be asking you the same thing. Are you lost or something?"

"Hardly," Buffy replied with a snort.

"Well then, what are you doing out here all by yourself?" Riddle asked.

"I don't think that's any of your damn business," Buffy retorted. "Don't you have anything better to do than bother me?"

"Ooh, touchy, touchy," Riddle shot back. He held up his hands in surrender, although his eyes conveyed the message that he was far from surrendering.

Buffy was about to open her mouth to retort when the door swung open again. Dumbledore stood in the doorway, his expression grave.

"You may come back in, Miss Summers," he said quietly, moving so that she could enter before him and gesturing her to enter. He turned to Riddle as Buffy made her way past him. "Mr. Riddle, I believe you should run along now."

Riddle scowled, but slunk off in the direction Buffy presumed he had come from; having not seen his approach, she couldn't be sure of what direction he had come from.

Dumbledore shut the door behind her and gestured for her to take a seat in the second chair in front of his desk, Dippet having taken the other chair. She looked from Dippet to Dumbledore a few times, trying to read their expressions. It was difficult, considering both faces held neutral expressions.

"So, what's the verdict?" Buffy asked, getting straight to the point. There was no point in prolonging the torture, after all.

"After what Dumbledore has told me of what happened this afternoon, I am inclined to agree that Hogwarts is the best place for you," Dippet said. "I am prepared to offer you a place as a sixth-year student; your house, of course, is as yet to be determined."

Wonder how hard it was for him to say that? Buffy thought. She nodded in acceptance, sagging slightly in relief.

"We need to get you fitted for a wand as soon as possible," Dumbledore continued. "After all, the sooner we get you outfitted with everything you need, the sooner we can get your tutoring underway. As I understand it, you have a lot of work to do to catch up."

"What am I going to do about money?" Buffy asked. After all, she didn't have a penny to her name, and therefore couldn't afford to buy school supplies or anything like that.

"We have a trust fund for situations like yours," Dumbledore replied with a kind smile.

"You mean, you get random people from the future falling from the sky often?" Buffy joked. Dumbledore smiled, but Dippet just set a stern look on her.

"We have a trust fund set up for students who have no parents and don't have an inheritance," Dippet clarified. Buffy felt cowed, and was quiet after that.

"But first, we must get one important factor out of the way," Dumbledore continued. He reached down and grabbed something that had previously been concealed by his desk. He placed the object onto the desktop and Buffy instantly knew what it was.

The infamous Sorting Hat.

"Let's get this onto your head, shall we?" Dumbledore said, grabbing the hat and getting up. He stood beside Buffy and placed the hat gingerly onto her head. Even though she was older than the majority of the students who tried on the hat, it was still far too large for her and it fell over her eyes.

Well, well, well, aren't you a little old to be sorted? a voice whispered in her ear. Buffy jumped and looked around wildly. Don't worry, you're the only one who can hear me. Now, what do we have here? A Slayer, eh? Haven't had one of those around these parts in several centuries. Should be interesting to have you around. Been dead once already have you? Determined little thing, to have come back from the dead. Yes, yes, I think I know where you'll go. You'll make life interesting for…

***

Umm… I'm sorry? I didn't mean to take this long to update; life just got really hectic and by the time I got home in the evenings after work my brain was completely fried. You all rule, each and every one of you, for sticking with me on this.